Let me start by saying Boise is a COOL town!  I guess when people describe it they call it a little Denver.  I could see why-I mean, gosh, they have a Proto’s too.  Which, on a side note, is where I ate lunch one afternoon where I watched the Ironman crew set up the finish line.  With all of that being said Ironman Boise 70.3 was a kickin’ good time!  With the finish right downtown in the evening it really felt like an Ironman 140.6.

Some things the same and some things different.  This race is unique in my opinion for 2 reasons:  First, it is a Saturday race, and second, it starts at 2 in the afternoon.  So the new beau, who really isn’t so new anymore in terms of time in our relationship but is still new to me because he stirs things in me that have never been stirred before, and well, quite frankly that is still new to me…but back to our story cuz this really is about triathlons, Boise 70.3 specifically, and not my love life.  We departed Denver on a 10pm flight that got delayed until 10:30pm.  Now this you must already know since you are reading a triathletes blog-we triathletes have a hard time staying up past 9pm!  Airplanes really aren’t that comfortable of a place to sleep, but I did manage some zzz’s on NB’s shoulder and in his lap-and a little bit on the other cute boy sitting next to me, quite by accident of course.  We arrived in Boise around midnight and caught the shuttle to the hotel and laid our heads on the pillow around 12:45am.  Not too bad.  Under normal race circumstances I would never fly on such a late flight, but we had Friday to sleep in, check out the course as best as we could without a car, and pick up race packets in the afternoon.  And, we didn’t have to rise and shine o’dark thirty for a race the day after either.  So…alas the trip to Idaho was uneventful and had no negative impact on us really.

The next day we were up around 9am, strolled down for the hotel breakfast and ran into GoDoreen who had so lovingly met a gentleman traveling alone and with a car!!  Bike course scoping time!  It was really nice of Richard to offer to let us tag along to scope out the reservoir and the bike course.  This race is a point to point event which always makes me a little nervous- just cuz I am a little forgetful sometimes!  Ironman Louisville is a point to point race as well, so I figured Boise made good practice for not forgetting things.  The bike starts out of transition with a mild downhill, with a short climb up onto the dam  and then a should be screaming decent heading to the outskirts of town.  A couple of climbs, a couple of technical turns, a tight turn around and then back to do it all over again except head downtown-slightly uphill but not too noticeable in the car and then a long straight road to T2.  Good stuff.  Hills to get out of the saddle, technical turns to have fun, and long straightaways to hammer.

Packet pick up at the Qwest Arena was well organized and super fast and super simple even though there was a line.  Great shopping at the Ironman Store-too bad it is all way out of my current budget.  Schwag was alright.  K Swiss bags and T shirts and a Headsweat cap.  With all the work finished for the day we headed out for lunch at Proto’s and hooked up later  with Keith, who so lovingly drove our bikes from Denver.  Once again we headed to the reservoir this time to drop our bikes the night before the race.  Here is another interesting thing about Boise 70.3.  Bike check in the day before is optional.  The event organizers offer racers and spectators the option of purchasing an $8 shuttle ticket for race morning and do not allow bikes on the bus, rightfully so.  However, this is interesting to me because the race start at the reservoir is about 10 miles away from the downtown area where all of the hotels are.  In my opinion, not a bikeable distance before a half.  Also, the parking at the reservoir is very limited and has you walking about a mile up a pretty steep hill.  I decided shuttle tickets were the way to go, but part of me really feels like the shuttle should not have cost participants extra money.  If you are going to offer a point to point race you should include the cost of transportation in the race.  But now that I have said that-there is A TON of police support and road closures on this course, so maybe the money is better spent there and what is 8 smackers really?  Bikes tucked in for the night, time for for dinner and bed!

So 2pm starts, first of all, call for  beer at a local brewery for dinner, but also make for a great morning.  Leisurely get up enjoy breakfast and pack some extra food-peanut butter and jelly bagels, bananas and waters for lunch time snack.  The shuttle to the start was simple to catch, they were a little behind schedule but everything went well regardless.  We chose the early shuttle and got all set up with plenty of time to find a shady area under a truck to lay down and stay cool.  Another interesting situation with this event is how they set up the bike transition.  They call it a “clean transition”.  Which translates to:  Everything for your bike must stay in the bike bag provided by the race.  Helmet, bike shoes, sunglasses, race number etc.  It was really no big deal with everyone having the same situation it is what it is right.  I just set everything up in my bag like I would have if I had a transition towel.  It went quite well except for one itty bitty thing.  I decided to get out of transition with my race belt in hand.  I figured I would clip it on while on the flat dam road or right as I started to descend.  I can ride without hands alright on my bike for a couple of minutes-in theory this seemed like a good idea as I was getting out of transition.  So here is where I begin to tell you how windy it was.  There was no hands free riding for me up on that dam road.  The cross wind was wicked.  So I stopped really fast, yes I even stop really fast, and buckled my race belt on my fanny.  And off I went towards the what should have been screaming decent.

I know I mentioned it once already, but it was WINDY!!  The entire ride.  Headwinds, crosswinds, and some tailwinds.  The triathlon gods were sort of smiling on us when they gave the tailwinds on the biggest climb of the course!  That made me happy.  The ride was hard for me.  I found myself fighting the wind a lot having to remind myself to just relax.  The volunteers on the course were awesome.  One was so awesome that he handed me an open chocolate Power Gel.  Yeah, I’m gonna let your imagination run with that one!!  I find myself interesting.  As I was sticking the gel in my back pocket I realized I had gel everywhere, I never think angry thoughts.  This is good.  Instead I spray myself and my bike down with a water bottle (I knew there was another aid station close) and laugh.  It brings back an old memory of a guy who had white bike shorts on during a race who had chocolate gu running down his butt.  I chuckled for quite awhile wondering if I had chocolate gu running down my butt.  Other than the wind and the open chocolate gel the bike was uneventful.  The long straightaway back to transition was brutal, and I was ready to get off my bike and go for a run!  Wait…did I just say that?  Yes, I was ready to run.

In true Andrea fashion, the first mile is good then I let myself take a break.  Had to potty, nowhere to pull over on the side to potty, so waited for a portalette.  Got going again.  Hooked onto a guy and chatted a little bit.  Anyone who runs with me knows that I hook on close and bump elbows, not sure why I feel the need to get so close, but I do and it helps me.  However, this guy got a little stronger and I couldn’t hold on.  Had to poo.  Got to a portalette again and did my business and felt much better.  Saw Steve.  Saw Keith.  Run run run.  Go past the finish.  Killer crowd ROARING.  Second lap much better.  I had a guy hook onto me and I just run run run.  My second loop must have been WAY better than my first because somehow I seem to manage a 12:00 pace.  True Andrea fashion.

For the training I have been putting in this race made me happy.  Can I do better?  Yes.  Do I have more?  Yes.  Is this where I am at the moment?  Yes.  Am I alright?  Pretty alright.  I always want so much more from myself but haven’t quite figured out how to get it out of myself.  Expectations and hope need to be backed with good, solid work.  That’s where I’m at.  The good, solid work stage.

Sorry for the lack of pictures…everyone was a racin’!  Congrats to Doreen, Keith, and Steve on amazing days!  Love you guys.